Calgary: Construction of ENMAX Energy Corporation’s gas-fired Shepard Energy Centre is well underway, the company announced October 4.
“Now that the preliminary site preparation is complete, construction of the major elements of this critical power facility are in full swing,” said Greg Melchin, ENMAX Corporation’s newly appointed board chair. “Plans for Shepard began in 2007 and when operational in 2015, it will add a much needed 800 MW to the provincial grid, while producing about half of the carbon emissions of a conventional coal plant.”
The facility will comprise two 240 MW natural gas fired turbine generators and one 320 MW steam turbine generator. The sheer size of the turbines requires a Herculean effort to transport them from Japan. “The natural gas fired turbines are massive and weigh in at about 400,000 pounds,” said Charles Ruigrok, interim President and CEO, ENMAX Corporation. The three-month journey from Japan includes transportation by ship across the Pacific, through the Panama Canal and up the east coast, then by special rail cars to Calgary and ultimately on reinforced flatbed trailers to the site.